Women can avoid repair fraud by learning more about their cars

Melissa MacCrae of Brewer was bothered for some time by a rattling noise that seemed to be coming from the rear of her car, on the left side. When she took it to a local car dealership for service, she described the noise to the mechanic on duty as sounding like a rock inside the hubcap of her left rear wheel.

When she returned several hours later to pick up the vehicle, she was told that they had found a rock in her right rear hubcap, and that it had been remedied.

“I thought that was kind of strange,” MacCrae said of the diagnosis of the car’s problem, but she paid the bill without questioning the mechanic.

“When I started the car and put it into gear, I could hear the same noise in the left rear,” she said.

MacCrae asked to see the mechanic who had worked on her car and was told that he was unavailable. She continued to insist upon speaking to someone, until the manager finally came out of his office. When she took him outside and had him listen to the noise, he removed the left rear hubcap and found a loose lug nut, which was quickly attached, thus ending the problem.

“It was a small problem, but I was very upset with the way they treated me,” MacCrae said. “I felt that I was not listened to because I was a woman. I decided that this would not happen to me again.” She called around and found a business that treated her with respect.

“I could probably learn how to do things like oil changes, but I don’t choose to. I would rather pay someone to take care of my car for me,” MacCrae said.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 40 cents of every dollar spent on auto repairs is spent on fraudulent or incompetent repairs. Women can be particularly vulnerable to fraud, because they often do not choose to learn about how their cars operate.

According to Phillip McFarland of Bangor Chrysler Plymouth Dodge, communication between the customer and the service department is the key to proper repair work.

“The biggest thing a customer can do is to take someone right out to the car and show them what the car is doing,” McFarland said. “Then there is no mistake. You know that you’re both hearing and looking for the same problem. We encourage this for two reasons: to know that you’re both talking about the same thing and to avoid wasting the customer’s money.”

Chrysler Corp. has printed a customer-service brochure, which is designed to help customers better describe the symptoms that their car is exhibiting. The guide lists separately the various components of the automobile, such as the engine, transmission, brakes, and electrical and heating or cooling systems.

Under each category are boxes to check concerning what the problem is, when it occurs, where it occurs, what kind of noise or motion it makes when it happens, etc. Also included is a glossary of automobile noises, from booming and buzzing to thumping and whining, with appropriate description of each term. The purpose of the brochure is to help the customer provide the dealership with information that will pinpoint exactly what needs to be done.

Phillip Cowan, a third-generation family member involved with Cowan’s Service Station in Brewer, feels that the reason they are able to acquire and keep a customer’s trust lies in the fact that they are a family business.

“Being local and having an owner in the store makes a difference,” Cowan said. “We are there to see that the work that was promised gets done. We have a lot of older women who rely on us. They like being able to talk to us and not just someone who works here.”

Cowan said that they try to explain what has been done and for what reason. “We’ve been in this business for 60 years,” he said. “Our customers know that we’re going to be here and that we’ll make it right for them if there’s a problem.”

Tips for better

car service:

Be assertive, ask questions, especially about what is to be done to your car;

Learn about your car by taking courses, reading, or having a friend teach you;

Look for a technician who’s been certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence. Ask friends for their recommendations when making the selection;

When you bring your car in for repairs, take along a written list of the problems and keep a copy for yourself;

Be as specific as possible when you describe the problem. Include symptoms: sounds, smells, the feel of the car, and when they happen’

Always get a written estimate before the work begins.

Judy Eyerer is a free-lance writer who lives in Bangor.